


and salt the earth behind you

by lookingoodsugar



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Family Dynamics, Grief/Mourning, Hunting and skinning of animals, Mentioned Emotional/Psychological Abuse, No shipping, Panic Attacks, Referenced Suicide Attempt, THIS IS NOT ABOUT THE REAL PEOPLE THIS IS ABOUT THEIR CHARACTERS ON THE SMP, also no beta we die like men, trial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:56:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28532535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookingoodsugar/pseuds/lookingoodsugar
Summary: me and my friends were talking about what would happen if tommy told sbi about what happened in logstedshire and one of the answers was dream gets arrested and goes on trial for his acts. another was techno fucks him up. this is the trial one.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 122





	and salt the earth behind you

**Author's Note:**

> trigger warning for mention of emotional abuse and mention of suicide attempt, no graphic depictions of violence but still mild violence.

In the cottage's dimly lit kitchen, the only noise was the sharpening stone against the axe's blade. The voices were quiet tonight, the snow laying its white cover in silence. The fire roared gently and two cocoas were getting cold. Tommy had fallen asleep downstairs before his brother could give him his. Technoblade sighed slowly. He could get used to this. 

He set the axe against the wall and went to clear the table when a scream tore the night. 

He grabbed the axe before his mind even formed the thought. He slid against the ladder to get downstairs faster. He needed to  _ protect _ . He jumped into Tommy's room ready to slay whoever was there but the basement was empty. The young boy in the bed was tossing around, his hand clenching the fabric of his covers. 

'Dream', he mumbled, 'Dream, where are you? Where did you go?'

Techno lowered the axe slowly. 

'No! Don't leave me!'

Techno shook Tommy awake. 

'Tommy. Tommy, wake up.'

The young boy jerked awake, grabbing Techno's arm. 

'T...Techno?'

'I'm here. What's going on, Tommy?'

The boy looked around the room. 

'I was...'

'You had a nightmare. You were screaming.'

Tommy peered at him through his bangs, pulling his knees against his chest on the end of the bed. 

'Sorry I woke you up,' he said in a tiny voice. 

'No, no! I wasn't sleeping, don't worry,' Techno rushed to say.

He hovered his hand above Tommy's leg, unsure if he should touch him. It pained him to see his energetic, annoying, hyperactive brother so beat down. The circles under his eyes and the dirty and ripped clothes he had when he first came had sent chills down Techno's spine. Whatever had happened in Logstedshire, whatever Dream had done, it had broken something in Tommy. 

'Do you want your cocoa? It's probably still warm.'

Tommy's eyes widened and a smile stretched on his face. He jumped to his feet and started climbing the ladder. Techno turned to follow him with a smile. 

'Wait, is that my diamond block?'

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, warm despite the cold weather. Techno was wearing his old cape, less warm but nonetheless good enough to brave the snow. He'd given his new one to Tommy who had no winter clothes. The boy always wore his armor, from the moment he got out of bed to the moment he went back in it. Though they were now the same height, the cape seemed big on Tommy. 

Techno handed the boy a shovel and went back inside to fetch the bodies he needed to dispose of. The one downfall of living in an area populated by mobs. Too many zombies, not enough places to put them. 

Tommy started digging, thinking of a way to protect the land without turning it into a beacon. Mindlessly going through the motion, he dug until the hole was deep enough then set down the shovel. Maybe hiding lanterns in snow pockets would work. 

'Tommy', Techno interrupted from a few yards away, 'what are you doing?'

Tommy stilled, his hand on the buckles of his chestplate. He'd already unfastened the left side without even noticing it. 

'Why are you taking your armor off?'

'I...' 

He looked around, searching for a reason. His eyes settled on the hole in the ground. His arms dropped to his side. 

'Did he make you do that?' Techno asked gently.

Tommy looked back at Techno, his eyes lost somewhere far, tears menacing to break out. Techno pulled the boy into a hug, fastening the buckles with his free hand. He remembered when he'd told Tommy to give him his armor to fix it one day and the boy had frozen. Things were starting to click now. And whatever Techno thought he was starting to understand, he knew it wasn't even the half of it.

'Let's get this done then we can go to the funeral.'

Tommy looked up, with a confused frown. 

'Whose funeral? Someone died?'

'Oh, Ghostbur gave me the invitations when you were passed out. It doesn't say. I'm not really welcomed there either so I wouldn't know.'

'If it were someone important they would've put the name, surely,' Tommy concluded, picking up the shovel. 

* * *

Tubbo massaged the bridge of his nose. He'd stayed up late last night getting everything ready and tiredness was weighing on him. He untied the green fabric around his neck and picked up his black tie instead. His funeral tie. He put on his president vest and looked into his mirror. He looked terrible. The last few weeks had taken their toll on everyone, but especially him. Surely he was being punished. He had caused this. He had exiled Tommy and now, he was dead. It was his fault. 

He looked at his to-do list for the day. Picking up Niki and Fundy at the portal. He could do this. This was easy. This he wouldn’t fuck up.

He opened the door and took a step in the cold winter. The streets of L'Manburg were empty, the shadows of El Rapids hiding some of it from the sun. It had snowed recently. One of the flags hanging from Ranboo's windows had flown away and was lying on the ground. Tubbo picked it up and gave it a shake to get rid of the grime. He folded it and stuck it in Ranboo's mailbox. L'Manburg looked desolate, a ghost town. Ranboo had gone MIA, Phil never went out anymore, Karl was never there, the whole place was empty.

He saw, on the way back, how Niki and Fundy looked at L'Manburg. With barely hidden disbelief. It hadn't changed much since they'd left but the air hung low. The wind blew through the houses, enough to whistle a sad lullaby but not enough to flap the flags. No one was smiling. The recent news had stripped L'Manburg from its happiness. 

The ceremony was in the same building as the one they'd had Schlatt's funeral. It felt wrong but they had no other places. It was only when they started replacing the banners by pictures of Tommy that Tubbo had realised they never had a funeral for Wilbur. What did this say about him? That he liked Schlatt more than his friend? Wilbur had been good to him, long ago. Was this the fate that awaited him? Every president had died, it was only natural that he would too. Would he go insane? Would he become power-hungry? Would he kill people? 

'Tubbo,' Niki called.

'Mmmmh?'

'It's time. Are you okay?'

He nodded absentmindedly. Niki gently squeezed his elbow and took her seat. He made his way to the altar and looked up. His words caught in his throat. He looked down at his hands.

'Tommy was...' He started in a strangled voice.

He looked at the crowd, unsure of what to say. Someone stepped in the building and he froze.

'What are you doing here?'

'What? Am I not allowed to go to my brother's funeral?' Techno asked, brushing the snow off his cape.

'You're not welcomed here,' Quackity said, standing up.

Techno looked at the scar on his jaw then looked back at Tubbo, unperturbed by the crowd suddenly gearing up.

'We need to talk,' he said, briefly glancing at something invisible on his left.

'About what?' Tubbo asked, mistrustful. It wouldn't be the first time Techno stabbed them in the back. Especially now, with Phil absent.

'You've been lied to.'

'By who?'

Techno looked around the room as if searching for an invisible enemy.

'Dream.'

'He told me you'd say that,' a voice cut through.

Everyone turned to look at Punz, his hand carefully on his sword.

'Did he, now?' Techno asked. 'Did he also tell you what he did in Logstedshire? Did you see the explosions? Or did you just believe whatever came out of his mouth?'

'I saw the explosions,' Tubbo cut in. 'I saw the pillar. Tommy killed himself.'

'Then how do you explain this?' Techno gave a swing at the air.

'Ouch! You're such a fucking dickhead!' The air replied. 'Don't punch me when I'm not wearing armour.'

The crowd let out a gasp. This voice was unmistakably Tommy's. 

'What the...' someone whispered.

Tubbo's eyes filled with tears. He staggered forwards. 

'Tommy?' He said in a small voice.

'Hey, big man. What's up?'

As if on cue, the invisibility effects started wearing off, slowly making the young boy appear. Tubbo stared in shock. He looked so... washed out.

'I'm sorry,' he choked up, 'I'm so sorry, Tommy!'

As he felt himself falter, Tommy caught him in his arms. He hugged him back, relieved to feel the warmth of his best friend. He was never going to let go.

'I thought you were gone,' Tubbo said.

'I thought I was gone, too,' Tommy confessed.

'He told me you were gone.'

'I bet he did,' Tommy replied grimly. 

* * *

Dream put down the crossbow and untied his gloves. The hunt had been good today. He bit on the fabric to slide it off his hand, opening the tap with his other hand. He had a bit of dried blood on his fingernails. He took off the other glove, wiggling his fingers to regain feelings. Maybe fingerless gloves weren't the best for winter. After drying his hands, he removed his mask, shaking his head slightly to untangle his hair. 

He'd strategically gone hunting before the funeral. It would've been too suspicious to show up. He'd been the last person seen with Tommy and he couldn't afford people jumping to conclusions. But as far as they knew, it was a suicide. 

Dream knew he should be looking for Tommy right now but he also knew the boy wasn't dumb enough to show up in L'Manburg. 

He let out a chuckle. Surely Tommy wasn't dumb enough to think faking his own death would trick anyone but Tubbo. He really thought his trident fall would've discouraged Tommy from towering up. But the pillar was spectacular, he had to admit it. 

The man fetched his skinning knife and took one of the rabbits in the pile. He was about to slice it open when the door behind him shook with force. He dropped the rabbit and grabbed his mask in time to put it against his face when the door broke. 

'Put your hands in the air, motherfucker,' a deep voice said.

Dream let out a small laugh. A crossbow was pressed against the back of his head. His own?

'Drop the knife and put your hands in the air,' the voice repeated. Techno's. 

Dream let go of the knife. 

'The mask, too,' said another voice, higher-pitched, slightly accented. Fundy.

'No, can't do,' Dream said with a smile.

A hand grabbed his knife. 

'Put. Your hands. In the air.' The voice repeated.

'I. Can't.' Dream mimicked.

'Here, I'll tie it,' a voice said. Dream straightened. Tommy was here.

'Hello, Tommy.' 

A hand stilled on his mask then after a beat, fastened the buckle. Dream raised his hands in the air, slowly. Another hand grabbed his wrists.

'Dream, you're under arrest. Get up.'

In a swift motion, someone tied his wrists together.

They took him to a portal, keeping the crossbow on the back of his head always. Too bad, he would have broken for a run if he didn't think they'd shoot him in the back.

On the other side, the building rose tall and menacing against the sky. The prison. His prison. His commission. _An inescapable prison_. He let out a small laugh.

'Shut the fuck up,' Quackity said behind him. 

'Oh, come on,' Dream laughed, 'this is hilarious. You think you can trap me?'

'Oh, we know we can,' a voice said.

Dream looked up. Sam was standing in the entryway, arms crossed against his chest. 

'Over here,' he gestured to the others, leading the way in.

* * *

They left him in jail for two days. He knew cause he started counting the seconds. It stopped him from going insane. The mining fatigue made every movement hard and he felt like his brain was getting crushed. On the second day, they took him back to L'Manburg. 

On the public square, there was a cage. He stopped in his tracks. _They were going to execute him_.  Ant gave him a push to get him to keep moving. His brain started working. He could get out of this one. He was smart. 

Tubbo stood in front of him. His expression was carefully blank. 

'Tubbo, come on,' Dream pleaded. 'What am I even accused of?'

Tubbo looked down at the papers in his hands.

'The charges are manipulation, bribery, larceny, forgery, vandalism, arson, child abuse and endangerment, laying and trading of explosives, terrorism and murder.'

Dream faltered. This was going to be harder to get out of than he thought. 

'What about a fair trial? Who are the witnesses, the evidence, the jury?'

'We are the witnesses,' Tubbo replied, 'we are the evidence, we are the jury.'

'What about the law? Don't I deserve a lawyer?'

Tubbo looked up.

'I am the law.'

He gestured to Ant and Ponk to proceed and they tightened their grip on Dream's arms, closing the cage behind him. There was animation in the streets. Everyone wanted to see how this would play out. Dream, cocky, undefeatable Dream, behind bars. 

A silhouette at a window caught his attention. Philza was watching. Dream chuckled to himself. He had managed to neutralize Phil quite easily. Phil was powerful, trying to get the Antartic Empire back together was something Dream couldn't let slide. He had to break Phil. Tommy's death and Wilbur's fate did the trick just fine. And even though Tommy was back, he knew Phil would never be the same again. Philza was powerful, but Dream was even more.

He sat back, plotting his escape behind his mask. His attention got caught by a braid of pink hair. He remembered the favor.

'Technoblade,' he called out.

Everyone stilled.

'Techno, you owe me.'

Dream smiled. 

'Actually,' Techno laughed coldly, 'I think _you_ owe me.'

Dream frowned. Behind Techno, Tommy stepped out, glancing at him briefly before looking away to find his seat. Techno's hand on his shoulder was firm but kind. A bond of brothers. Dream had never had a brother. Maybe if he had, he would've been able to take Tommy down. Definitely.

'Punz!' he tried, 'Punz, we have a deal.'

Punz stood up.

'That deal fell through when you fucked with the wrong things. I'm on your side when it's righteous, not when it's evil. I'm not a villain.'

'You're all I have,' Dream tried.

A sharp laugh broke the silence.

'Oh, is that right?' Sapnap said humorlessly.

Dream craned his neck but couldn't find the young man anywhere.

'Wait!' a voice called out.

Dream almost lost his balance turning around. George was here. George would help him.

'What's going on?' He gestured at the cage before being ushered away by Sapnap so fast Dream couldn't see where the young man had been hiding before.

Tubbo cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention back to him, and started the trial.

* * *

'What's going on? Why the hell is Dream in a cage?'

'George,' Sapnap tried to calm him.

'What's going on? Dream didn't do anythi—'

'George!'

He could feel his anger bubbling up.

'We have to help him, we have to—'

'Oh. My. GOD,' he exploded, 'How can you still not get it, George! He doesn't love us, he just wants power! He doesn't give a shit about us!'

George faltered.

'But—'

'How can you still be on his side after what he's done to Tommy, to me?'

'To you?'

'I gave him Mars because I trusted him, and he gave it to Tommy! Did you even see what he did in Logsted? He convinced Tommy everyone hated him, he manipulated him every day! Did you even visit once? Did you see the craters?'

He calmed for a second.

'Did you know Tommy was going to kill himself? Dream did this to him. Dream...'

His anger vanished with the weight of his words. 

He couldn't believe he'd ever cared for Dream. He couldn't even remember who is friend had been, so long ago, when he wasn't chasing power.

* * *

The m echanics could work. There had to be a fault in the code, a defect in the cage. He'd heard rumors that Techno had gotten out of a thing like this. He could do it. There had to be a way.

'The sentence,' Tubbo concluded, 'is death.'

Dream caught sight of Sapnap and George coming back. Finally, they would help him.

He locked eyes with George, and saw _nothing_. No panic, no indignation. Emptiness. It dawned on him.

_ George hated him. _

He was going to die. It was over. He was alone.

'Stop,' Techno said, standing up.

All eyes turned to him. Dream grabbed the bars with hope. Techno was always one for theatrics.

'Search him for a totem of undying,' the man simply said.

Dream took a step back. So this was how Techno survived. And how he would die.

''As you sow you shall reap'...,' Tubbo finally said. 'Any last words?'

''And salt the earth behind you',' Dream finished under his breath. _So that nothing can ever grow again_.

Quackity pulled the lever. 

* * *

The noise was so loud. For a while, there was only noise. Pain turned the world white. When it faded, it became more evident everything was black. There was simply nothing. No above, no below, just blackness. Infinite, empty darkness. Then he felt it. Beneath his hands. Round, cold, a smile carved in it. A mask.

He traced with his finger the downwards frown. His own face felt wrong. Caved in. He brought the mask to his face and tied it. The universe tilted back on its axis. This felt right. This felt... Like color. Like the end of the blackness. 

'Hey,' a kind voice said, 'don't cry. Here, have some blue.'


End file.
